


Moments

by Shinaka



Category: Bleach
Genre: Canon Compliant, Drabble Collection, F/M, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-02
Updated: 2012-07-02
Packaged: 2017-11-09 00:47:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/449389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shinaka/pseuds/Shinaka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of short Chad/Karin moments. Originally posted on LiveJournal on Feb. 22, 2006; slight edits have been made since then.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Moments

Resting on the ground between his arms, she could have laid her head on her chest and easily feel the hear rapidly beating within – if the rhythm could be expressed in words, it would go:  _dokidokidokidokidoki_ , heartbeats colliding and stumbling over one another.   
  
"Hey…Hey, big guy, you okay?"   
  
She heard a groan emanating from dark, thick lips. Red dripped from his cheek to hers.   
  
In the embrace of muscled arms, the cry of Hollow and the telltale drip of his blood, Karin prayed.   
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~   
  
Ichigo’s little sister was a short little thing, he thought, kneeling down to lessen the distance between them. At his full height, she would barely reach his waist.   
  
"Don’t tell Ichi-nii this, big guy," she began, her eyes on his. Like Ichigo, who minced no words and was always painfully honest and direct. "But you guys went somewhere to kill more of those things, right? Tell me the truth."   
  
There was a moment of indecision where he tried to avert his eyes from hers – no,  _Ichigo’s_  – but two slender hands, surprisingly strong, pulled him back.   
  
"Hey, answer me." She breathed out the next word, so low he could barely hear if not for their faces nearly touching. "Please."   
  
Going home that day, he touched his face and felt his skin tingle with the memory of her small fingers.   
  
He had told her everything.   
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~   
  
Her breath caught in her throat as she heard his footsteps to the door.   
  
Two meters and still growing, his huge  _gaijin_  frame loomed over the threshold and dwarfed the girl who had been waiting to greet him. From under shaggy brown locks, two brown eyes stared down at her.   
  
"Yo," she said.   
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~   
  
"Stupid," and her foot met his forehead, though she was laughing and he pretended the bruise didn’t hurt at all, even when it turned bright red and swollen under the ice pack she laid there.   
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~   
  
Holding the candy bar, she stared at him, one eyebrow raised.   
  
"It’s your favorite, isn’t it?" Thick, brown fingers sifted through the Safeway bags on the ground, then lifted out a bottle amidst the crumpling of plastic. "Here’s a Pocari Sweat, too."   
  
At home, when Ichigo’s hand crept across the table towards the candy, she left it black-and-blue.   
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~   
  
"You’re bleeding."   
  
She clutched the napkin to her cheek, and winced at the first tendrils of pain just hitting her brain.   
  
"I’m fine. They didn't get me that bad." She was obviously lying through her teeth.   
  
But he wouldn’t leave until he saw her wipe all the blood away from her face, and before she can run her hands over the bruises on her legs, he picked her up bridal-style and carried her home to her brother.   
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~   
  
Punching out her father was easy. But wiping the silly faces off of Ichigo and Yuzu was harder.   
  
"Karin-chan - " Yuzu started, before Ichigo took her by the shoulders and screamed, "Why the hell do you want a  _parakeet_  for?"   
  
Prying away his hands, she saw that she was almost as tall as he was, her head overtaking his chin. She would turn fourteen next month.   
  
"I’ll take care of it," she spoke, counting her brother’s wrinkles. Four, five, six…"I’ll pay for the food, cage, everything." Weeks of past allowances were buried in her front pocket, enough to buy two parakeets.   
  
He noticed the conviction in her eyes and knew.  
  
"You're serious."   
  
"Of course, Ichi-nii!" She glared at him.

Finally, he heaved a sigh and pushed her on the back, toward their front door. "I'll call Chad and have you meet him at the store."

Karin smiled.


End file.
